Waterford police are looking for people who want to sign up to be unpaid reserve officers.

Police Chief Daniel McCaw updated the township board about the program, saying: "We hope to have 10 to 15 people."

He was looking for four to six people to begin the program, available to attend training by Sept. 1. Officials would like the reserve officers to be on duty by Nov. 1.

The unit would look for people improperly parked, do vacation checks of homes and businesses, ride with regular patrols and help during charity events, parades, major events and storms, said McCaw.

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People who have a law enforcement background will be preferred over those who do not, he said.

Volunteers must have a license to carry a concealed weapon and pass a criminal background check.

"They'll be used to augment regular police," said McCaw.

The department will provide a reserve officer with training and a uniform.

The department had a reserve unit until 2004, officials said. "The past administration decided to end it," said McCaw, who did not know details since he was not chief at the time.

Tony Bartolotta, Waterford board member who suggested a reserve unit more than two years ago, said: "I'm pleased they are finally implementing this program. We need it because of the shortage of officers. Another set of eyes is always a good thing."

Waterford Supervisor Gary Wall called the reserves a "good idea."

Wall spoke of having reserve officers used for seat belt enforcement.

"You have them watching rather than an on-duty officer, and then if they see a violation, they could alert a police officer down the road."

Sgt. Dwayne Warner, a former Waterford reserve officer who volunteered between 1994-96, will be in charge of the new unit.

Warner got involved in the 1990s while in college in his mid-20s. "I wanted to see if I liked (police work) and being in it gave me a leg up if I wanted to get hired," said Warner.

The unit back then had two kinds of people volunteering, said Warner. "There were guys like me trying to move forward in their career and the second group had older people who always liked police work and wanted to give back to the community."

Warner said he hopes for that same kind of mix when the new unit forms.

"I'm happy to see it come back," he said.

West Bloomfield and Bloomfield township police departments have no reserve units. Sylvan Lake recently added more than a dozen reserve officers to its force.

Applications can be found at the Waterford Township Fiscal and Human Resources website, http://bit.ly/13ATNwP. People can also pick up an application at the Human Resources office inside Town Hall at 5200 Civic Center Drive in Waterford.

The Oakland County Sheriff's Office's 100-member Reserve Unit donated more than 23,000 hours in 2010 to assist the Sheriff's Office on a variety of details. Qualified citizens attend a Reserve Officers Training Academy, and upon graduation join officers on patrol and work special events such as football games, parades and the Woodward Dream Cruise. Reserve deputies also assist with Neighborhood Watch events and conduct child fingerprinting programs.

Chief addresses highway patrol concerns

Waterford Police Chief Daniel McCaw responded to questions regarding beefed-up patrols on Dixie Highway. A July 11 story described about additional patrols being directed to the nine-mile stretch of highway, which has been under construction for weeks.

Currently, road crews are working on Dixie at Frembes to the south, and at M-15 to the north.

"Since crews started working on the bridge construction (near Hatchery) July 12, Waterford police have written over 100 citations including those for drunk driving, driving with suspended drivers license and license plate violations," McCaw said.